Opinions after a week of riding the 300

[gptoyz]

So I helped my gf pick up a ninja 300 last week. I have ridden many, many bikes through the years:

ninja 250r 2008
ninja 250 (some old ass one)
fzr 600 owned
nc30 owned
cbr600f owned
cbr600f4
cbr600f4i owned
rs125 owned
ducati 748 00 owned
rc51 sp1 owned
rc51 sp2 owned
ninja 636 03 owned
gsxr 1000 06 owned
gsxr 600 06 owned
gsxr 750 06 owned

This bike has impressed me greatly! The FI system stands out as the single greatest part about this bike, other than the true supersport styling. I hate, hate, loathe, despise carbs and jets. It was annoying sometimes to find my engine flooded because some jack ass went to twist the throttle while the bike was parked. Also carb'd bikes would run like crap high up in the canyons where there was a huge disparity between the environment at the top and at the base.

The 300 motor is just enough to not make freeway rides less scary when compared to the former 250s. Merging on to uphill on ramps to the freeway were always an adventure even with WOT! Let's just say, I have been spoiled by riding 1000 twins and 4s, which you can basically run around all over town in 2 and 3rd. At the same time, I know the little 300 motor won't get me into too much trouble with LEOs like a gsxr 1000 which feels like it's just walking @ triple digit speeds.

I have to say my biggest complaint about this bike is the ridiculous throttle pull and the buzzy nature of the engine. Once the owner has learned how to tame this bike, I'm definitely going to toss on either an R1 or R6 throttle tube. The stock throttle tube has to be like 1/3 or even 2/3 lol.

1 minor complaint I do have is that the bike doesn't have enough brakes, but I guess coming from modern dual caliper radial mount front brakes to a single caliper/rotor I have to expect a forgiving setup for a beginner bike! What would have been forward thinking is if kawsaki had made the front rim symmetrical and put mounting bosses for a left front caliper so that a second rotor could be mounted in the future to upgrade to a true plug and play dual rotor/caliper system. On a couple of occasions I found myself praying that I had slowed down enough for turns because I had already missed the turn in/apex that I would have normally hit on any modern 600.

I really hope that the Ninja 500R get's a similar styling, equipment update like the ninja 300 so that Kawasaki can take the fight to the Honda CBR500R!!!

[alex.s]

better lines and pads brings the brakes up to par and will gladly pull the rear wheel off the ground. the throttle definitely is about two thirds too long. shorter turn throttles are pretty common. i have a really big cam on mine so its nice and short

[gptoyz]

line wasn't the problem, I was looking to carry speed - carrying speed is fine but when it was time to stop, there was simply not enough mU

yes, tossing on pads and grippier tire will improve, but it simply doesn't have the stopping power of a dual rotor, dual caliper setup. The stopping was so flat on the ninja 300, no dive what's so ever even on the crappy stock forks.

on my gsxr race bike I use vesrah srjl so I know what good brakes feel like. This was not a case of boiling fluid or brake lines expanding, it just didn't have enough force to stop the bike from going forward fast enough.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by gptoyz

The FI system stands out as the single greatest part about this bike, other than the true supersport styling. I hate, hate, loathe, despise carbs and jets. It was annoying sometimes to find my engine flooded because some jack ass went to twist the throttle while the bike was parked. Also carb'd bikes would run like crap high up in the canyons where there was a huge disparity between the environment at the top and at the base.

THIS I HATE carbs. They require SO much more maintenance and they get less fuel economy and are way more unreliable compared to FI. Yeah, you can make the argument that if carbs go wrong you can fix em yourself vs FI you have to basically pay a ton of money and have a mechanic work his magic. But I've never had an issue with FI and know no one personally who has either.

[Alex]

The stock brake pads on the 300 are quite gentle, requiring quite a bit of effort to get any decent braking force. As you mention, maybe good for a beginner to prevent unintended front locking/diving, but not so great for more experienced riders. The pads are much more gentle than the ones they put on the last-gen 250, which were pretty good right out of the box.

Spending $30 on more aggressive pads will make a significant difference in the braking feel on the 300; it's well worth it. Sure - going with a larger rotor, or throwing on a front end with dual rotors, can improve the performance at the limit, but people race these bikes all day long with the stock setup without scaring themselves silly.

[Brother Michigan]

If you're on a non-ABS model, the stock pads aren't even metallic; an upgrade to sintered pads would certainly make a difference, as has been mentioned. That being said, you can lock things up even with the organic pads.

[ninjamunky85]

SS lines and H-H sintered pads up front make a big difference. If that's not enough it's easy to upgrade to a better caliper and radial mc. Remember these bikes barely get into the triple digits, you don't need a two rotor setup.

[Brother Michigan]

Also, aren't two-rotor setups more about heat mitigation than outright braking power?

[BoBO]

Hopefully the Ninja 500R comes out next year, that would be a fast bike. I gotta say, the 300 is a nice bike. Stock for stock, the Ninja 300 is the better version of the Ninja 250R. Although not much, the extra little power & FI makes the difference.

[Hero Danny]

Originally Posted by BoBO

Hopefully the Ninja 500R comes out next year, that would be a fast bike. I gotta say, the 300 is a nice bike. Stock for stock, the Ninja 300 is the better version of the Ninja 250R. Although not much, the extra little power & FI makes the difference.

That would be cool

It's not just the FI and extra power, the bike itself looks a lot better, much more sportier and often confuses people of it being a zx6r. Very awesome bike, it also made a few improvements in places often over looked such as the seat, kick stand, etc.

[gptoyz]

Originally Posted by Brother Michigan

Also, aren't two-rotor setups more about heat mitigation than outright braking power?

if you double the rotors, pads and calipers (pistons) you are going to increase the stopping power - assuming you compensate and increase the master cylinder piston size accordingly.

heat spreading would be if you distributed the current braking size to 2 calipers/pistons/rotors/pads that were 1/2 the size of the current single brake side setup

[BoBO]

Originally Posted by Hero Danny

That would be cool

It's not just the FI and extra power, the bike itself looks a lot better, much more sportier and often confuses people of it being a zx6r. Very awesome bike, it also made a few improvements in places often over looked such as the seat, kick stand, etc.

Oh yeah, when I said better version of the 250R, I'm talking about the whole package, seat, kick stand, softer lever, wider wheels to accept the 140/70-17, flushed turn signals, and overall styling.

I have a pumped up 250R, so the main thing that caught my eye about the 300 was the FI & extra torque. I really want to get a 300, but I already have a 250. It would only make sense for me to get something bigger. My 250 will be the track toy since it's cheaper to maintain. I wish I started with the 300, but maybe it's better that way, since the RC390 & Ninja 500 might come around next year.

[Brother Michigan]

Originally Posted by gptoyz

if you double the rotors, pads and calipers (pistons) you are going to increase the stopping power - assuming you compensate and increase the master cylinder piston size accordingly.

heat spreading would be if you distributed the current braking size to 2 calipers/pistons/rotors/pads that were 1/2 the size of the current single brake side setup

Yes, you can have twice the braking power assuming the same pressure is applied to each rotor as you would apply to a single rotor, but two rotors also means each generates half the heat for the same braking load. When you can lock up the wheel with a single rotor, more braking force isn't really necessary, but the benefits of less heat generation under repeated braking (as during aggressive riding) are certainly useful.

Anyhow, not important! Glad you liked everything else about the 300!

[gptoyz]

Originally Posted by Brother Michigan

Yes, you can have twice the braking power assuming the same pressure is applied to each rotor as you would apply to a single rotor, but two rotors also means each generates half the heat for the same braking load. When you can lock up the wheel with a single rotor, more braking force isn't really necessary, but the benefits of less heat generation under repeated braking (as during aggressive riding) are certainly useful.

Anyhow, not important! Glad you liked everything else about the 300!

well you definitely can't lock up the front. Which is why I always wonder why people bother with ABS. You are more likely to lose the front and tuck the front end or ENDO/Stoppie - but I've found it damn nearly impossible to pick up the rear tire on this bike, even on accident, either because the instantaneous mU or avg mU is just not sufficient or the stock brake setup just won't allow that much pressure to be put on the front.